


Guardian Angel

by Chie (Chierafied)



Series: Drabblers one shots IR [18]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon parallels, Gen, Guardian Angels, One Shot, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 05:32:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19692112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chierafied/pseuds/Chie
Summary: Ichigo's convinced there is something off about his neighbour, but finding out the truth proves to be more than he bargained for.





	Guardian Angel

There was something off about Kuchiki Rukia.

Granted, Ichigo didn’t know her that well.

She was just the woman who lived in the neighbouring apartment, they didn’t really socialise or anything. Just nodded and said hello if they bumped into each other coming or going. And she’d come to introduce herself when she had moved in.

But Ichigo had a sense about people and although he couldn’t put a finger on it, he was utterly convinced that something was up with Rukia.

Most people using the monikers of a psychic or a medium were charlatans, ripping off people who were at their most vulnerable.

Ichigo had nothing but contempt for them and did not at all wish to be associated with that lot of vultures. So he didn’t really put any labels on his abilities.

Not wanting to use such words didn’t change the facts, though.

And the fact was, that just like the kid in that American movie, Ichigo saw dead people.

Like the little boy who was standing beside his bed right now, sniffling.

Ichigo sighed and sat up. He reached out, feeling like his hand was plunged into a bucket of something ice cold and thick and gelatinous as he ruffled the ghost's hair.

"What's wrong?"

The ghost's tear-filled eyes met his. "I'm scared of the dark."

"Well that's easily fixed," Ichigo murmured, then flicked on the lamp on his bedside table. "Good night, kid."

Ichigo laid back down and turned his back at the light and the ghost.

Before he fell asleep he heard the soft whisper in his ear.

"Thank you."

* * *

It was late in the evening, after a long day of work and an exhausting commute when Ichigo finally turned onto the street he lived on. He was focused entirely on getting home and flopping into bed and paid minimum attention to his surroundings – until the dark and malicious threads brushed against his senses.

Ichigo stopped, instantly alert and looked around.

At first, he didn't understand what he was seeing; just the dark shape of something big that was looming at the end of the street. 

He didn't know what it was, didn't even _want_ to know what this creature could possibly be.

Because he could feel it, and the energy creeping over his skin was pure evil.

And then the huge, evil entity was moving and coming straight towards him.

_Shit!_ This was bad!

Ichigo willed his legs to move but they didn’t obey.

He stood still, watching in horror as whatever that ugly ass thing was bounded closer.

Something moved in the periphery of his vision.

The panicked thought that there were more of these ugly things roaming about had barely had time to surface before he realised that someone had just leapt out in front of him.

A small someone, dressed in a cutesy sundress.

Ichigo blinked.

_What the hell?_

What was the idiot woman doing?

That’s when he noticed the sword – and more importantly, the way she was holding it: like she knew what the hell she was doing.

Ichigo swallowed.

He’d known something was off about Kuchiki Rukia.

And speaking of, she seemed different somehow… and not just because of the sword.

Then he realised what it was: for the very first time, he could actually see her aura, and it was unlike any he’d ever come across.

Usually, people’s aura’s were predominantly one colour.

But Kuchiki Rukia was bathed in a multitude of shimmering colours that kept shifting around her like an iridescent halo.

A shout of warning stuck in Ichigo’s throat when the creature lunged – but Rukia was already jumping forward to meet it, her sword at the ready.

It happened so quickly that Ichigo didn’t even register the purposeful slash of Rukia's sword arm until the evil creature was already dissolving, evaporating into the air, erased.

The world around them was quiet, the malevolent energy gone.

Gone also was the sword with which Kuchiki Rukia had destroyed it.

Ichigo shot a narrow-eyed glare at her.

“What was all that about? What the fuck was that thing?”

Rukia's face was calm, and she shrugged her shoulders as she replied. “We call them Hollows. They’re evil spirits that devour souls.”

Well, that didn’t sound disconcerting at all.

Ichigo shook his head, pushing aside the topic. He wasn’t ready to process all this shit about Hollows yet, and anyway, there were still some pressing questions to ask.

Such as...

“What are you? What the hell kind of aura is that?” he demanded, scowling darkly.

“Quite the opposite of hell, actually,” Kuchiki Rukia replied, her deep violet eyes amused. “It’s a celestial aura.”

“What? Like some kind of an angel?”

“Of a sort, yes.”

“You’re seriously expecting me to believe that angels are real?” he scoffed.

“You show a remarkably shallow faith for a man who can see ghosts.” 

That shut Ichigo up and made him frown all the more because how could she possibly know that about him?

Unless she was telling the truth.

But that would be ridiculous. Wouldn’t it?

An angel. Living next door. And one who could wield a vanishing sword, apparently.

Guess you couldn’t make that kind of shit up.

Frustrated about all these bizarre turns of events, Ichigo scratched his head.

“Well thanks, I guess. For jumping in like that.”

Crazy at it had been, Rukia had likely saved his life.

“No thanks are necessary,” she replied. “I was just doing my job.”

Trepidation snaked down Ichigo’s spine as his whole body tensed.

“What job?”

She quirked a single eyebrow at him.

Ichigo opened his mouth and closed it. He rubbed at his temples.

He could just feel the headache building up.

“When you said angel of a sort,” he drawled after a moment in a tight voice, “would there happen to be such a sort as guardian angels?”

Rukia’s slow smile was all the answer he needed.

Ichigo muttered a few choice words and stared at the petite woman, the woman purporting to be his guardian angel.

He didn’t know in the slightest what that all meant, but he was certain of one thing: his life was about to get a lot more complicated.


End file.
